


I hope your world is kind

by RedBlackOwl (Shaylayn)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Warring States Period (Naruto)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2020-06-15 19:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19625932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaylayn/pseuds/RedBlackOwl
Summary: A world in which the boy who, in another world, would have been known as Senju Tobirama is given away to the Uchiha as payment for a favor the patron goddess of the Uchiha Clan did his mother.Growing up as an Uchiha should not change as much as it ultimately does.(Amaterasu is very amused by it all. Zetsu is very much not.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is not the first work I ever posted online. But the first here on AO3 and more importantly the first written in english, which is obviously not my first language.  
> I'm hopeless at anything involving grammar and I don't have a beta so while I tried to catch everything I probably didn't.
> 
> Title from the song of the same name by Auri.

**Prologue**

The night is dark and silent. The moon hidden behind a curtain of dark, heavy clouds that promise rain. But Misaki doubts that it will start before she is back home, safe and warm in the presence of her family. Her family that will gain another member tonight.

Misaki still feels terrible that she has hidden this from her husband for all those month, but the goddess had demanded it (she had demanded quiet a lot actually) and Misaki is hardly foolish enough to go against a divine order. 

It had been easy to slip out of the Uchiha compound once her sons and Tajima had gone to bed. The guards always looking the other way when Misaki was darting past them. No patrol had crossed her way, as she rushed through the forest. But she doesn’t worry about those patrols. They will question what she is doing outside, but they will not do anything to actually stop her. 

There is of course the possibility of them allerting Tajima, so it is easier to just avoid them, than having to deal with her husband the moment she comes home.

No, it isn’t the patrols of her own clan that worry her. What does worry her is what comes after she crosses the Nakano. 

The forest in Senju territory are just the same as the one she knows. Which shouldn’t be surprising, trees don’t care about clans and wars and even less about borders. They can’t care less where they grew, and considering that she is still in Fire Country it should be quite logical that the trees won’t be any different from the ones in Uchiha territory.

Despite knowing this through, the trees seem to loom ominously, the shadows darker and the stillness almost eerie. 

Keeping her eyes and ears open, stretching her senses out as far as he can and pulling her own chakra as tightly towards her as she can manage, she darts through the Senju forest. The goddess had promised her a safe passage through it and while Misaki does not doubt that the goddess will keep her promise, she can’t help but expect a Senju patrol to suddenly come bursting through the underbrush and attack her. 

The night continues to be silent though, the only sounds the rustling of the leaves in the light wind and the occasional owl hooting from somewhere in the dark.

Luckily the shrine the goddess has mentioned wasn’t all that far into enemy territory, so Misaki manages to reach it only a few minutes after crossing the river. 

There isn’t much left of it, only a few broken stone lamps sticking out of the foliage, cracked steps leading up to a small altar that is all that is left of the actual shrine. For a moment Misaki wonders which god it had once represented. It looks as if had been left to ruin long before the Senju claimed this land as theirs. 

Sitting on the cracked steps is a woman holding something that is wrapped in a dark blanket. That has to be the Senju woman the goddess had talked about. 

She doesn’t seem to have noticed yet that she is no longer alone, hunched over the bundle and staring into the dark as she is.

Misaki hesitates for a moment, still hiding in the darkness. This is it then, after eight long months she is on Senju land, hiding away from a woman whose child she will take away from her on the behest of the patron goddess of the Uchiha Clan. 

In all those month leading up to tonight, she has wondered what she should do once she was here. Maybe she should have said no, maybe she should have refused the goddess request. 

And if Amaterasu had just come to her because she is the clan heads wife, than maybe she would have done it. Misaki has never been a devout believer. Amaterasu is much more involved in mortal affairs then the other gods, but she still does nothing when it comes to protect Misaki’s clansmen from being killed by the Senju. 

(Sometimes, whenever Amaterasu does interfere in someway to help a patrol that has encountered a Senju patrol or during one of the bigger battles, Misaki wonders if the goddess is doing it to keep the Uchiha worshipping her or if there is more to it all then Misaki can see. If there is more reason for why Amaterasu had not yet whipped the Senju out herself, other than her just being a cruel dety taking pleasure in seeing the mortals suffer.) 

But Amaterasu also seems to have an interest in her second born and that scares Misaki more than even the thought of her sons one day having to go to the battlefields. That is something Misaki can prepare them for. But the goddess taking interest in one of her sons? That is not something she can protect them from, as much as she wishes she could.

Misaki remembers the smug smile and victorious gleam in the goddess eyes when she had mentioned Madara’s name and it had sent a bold of ice cold fear down Misaki’s spin. 

Amaterasu hadn’t gone into any details only requesting that the child Misaki will bring home tonight is to grow close to Madara. Misaki couldn’t promise this of course, she can try but ultimately she can not predict who both Madara and this child will become when they grow up. 

Luckily the goddess had been satisfied with that and had not pressed for more. 

Taking a deep breath Misaki finally steps out into the open. She is here, she has taken a request from a goddess and there is nothing she can do to change that now. Better to get it over with, for both of them. 

Despite the fact that the Senju woman doesn’t seem very alert, her head snaps up immediately the moment Misaki steps out of the cover of the trees and into the clearing. 

For a moment the two women just stare at each other. 

Misaki idelly wonders who this woman is, that had promised her second born child to the patron goddess of her greatest enemy. Amaterasu hadn’t been very forthcoming with information about this woman. For all Misaki knows, she could be just some random footsoldier or Senju Butsuma’s wife herself. 

Misaki very much hopes that it isn’t the latter.

Then the Senju woman hunches her shoulders and tightens her arms around the bundle, looking as if she is contemplating to just blow this whole thing of and make a run for it. 

In all honesty, Misaki wouldn’t even blame her. She can’t even imagine how this woman must feel, giving up her child. 

There are many who would judge her for it, for being selfish selling her child to a goddess for some favor. But Misaki does not know her situation, she does not know what it is the woman had asked of the goddess and as long as she doesn’t she will not judge. 

In the end however, the woman relaxes somewhat and stands up from the steps she is still sitting on and approaches Misaki cautiously. 

Misaki herself keeps very still, trying to look non-threatening and relaxed and to not show how tense and anxious she actually is. 

The Senju woman stops just out of arm's reach, hestianting for one long moment, before she holds the bundle out towards Misaki. She carefully reaches for the bundle, taking it from the other woman and drawing it towards herself. 

Pulling the blanket to the side, Misaki is greeted by a tiny face. The baby is clearly not even a day old, it’s skin paler than Misaki would have thought given the Senju tendency towards darker skin tones. She can’t see the child's eyes, as they are closed in sleep, but on top of its head is a tuft of snow white hair. 

Misaki eyes the woman still standing before her curiously, taking in her dark hair and eyes and wondering where the child got it’s colouration from. Maybe the father? 

It probably is a mystery she will never solve. 

Awkwardness falls over them then, both of them not sure what to do next. Misaki wonders if she should just go, run home to safety as fast as possible, leaving the Senju lands behind her or should she say something, anything to the woman to reassure her? She is the enemy yes, but she is also a woman giving up her child to that same enemy.

Before she can decide however, the woman before her suddenly bowes. Misaki is so startled that she takes a step back, staring at the bowed form of the Senju woman. 

“Please”, the woman starts. “Please, take care of him.” Then she straightens again, a determinant look in her eyes, turning around and taking of without another word. Leaving Misaki standing alone in front of the ruins of the shrine. 

Taking a few precious seconds to calm her racing heart, before she would make her way back herself, Misaki adjusts the bundle in her arms more securely. Another deep breath and she is finally on her way home. 

\---

She makes it back just as easily as she had gotten out. Her house is still dark, her husband and sons still asleep, unknowing of what had just transpired. 

On silent feet she slips through the house and into the living space, settling herself in front of the table, wondering what she should do now. 

She still doesn’t have a plan what to tell her husband about the child. How much should, could she tell him? 

Tajima isn’t a very religious man. While he pays his respects and makes offerings at their house altar, he hardly cares what the goddess wants or expects from him. In his opinion, Amaterasu does not enough to help them and normally Misaki would agree with him, but…

That night eight month ago had changed much, not just in the form of the child sleeping in her arms, but also on her view of the goddess. She had suddenly become so much more real, so much more dangerous. 

It wasn’t that she had not been real before, of course, but… it is one thing to know that there is a goddess out there sometimes helping, sometimes not and  _ knowing  _ that there is something so much more powerful and older than anything and anyone else Misaki knows.

Meeting Amaterasu had drastically changed Misaki’s worldview and not in a good way. 

The question therefore is, will Tajima accept it, when Misaki tells him what Amaterasu had ordered her to do, after she had accepted her request? For Misaki to go meet a Senju woman, take her child and bring it back to the Uchiha compound to rise it as one of their children? 

Will he listen? Or will he just kill the babe and be done with it, consequences be damned? 

Considering the lengths the goddess had gone to get the child to Misaki, she was pretty sure that Amaterasu will not be pleased if her orders are disobeyed. Misaki fears what the goddess will do to her husband should he truly do something foolish. 

Maybe it will be best to just not tell Tajima about the child’s true parentage. Regardless of his opinions on the gods, he will not disobey if there isn’t a valid reason to. Maybe it will suffice to tell him that the child is a bastard the goddess had taken a shine to for some unknown reason. Because really, who are they to claim that they can understand the reasoning of the goddess? 

Yes, it will be better to leave Tajima in the unknown of who the little boy really is. And considering what she had seen of him when she had peeked into the folds of the blanket, she doubts that anyone will ever be able to see the lie and link the boy to the Senju. 

\----

Misaki didn’t sleep one wink that night. Therefore she had absolutely no patience for her husbands dramatics. 

Tajima is standing on the other side of the table Misaki still sits in front of. His arms crossed before his chest and looming in what he probably thinks is a intimidating manner and to everyone else it most likely is, but Misaki had never been very impressed by Tajima’s ridiculous displays of dominance. 

Instead she keeps her attention on the baby she is currently feeding. On second thought, it is probably this sight that has Tajima in such a snit. Maybe she should have made sure he was aware of the situation, before he stumbled in on her feeding a baby that had definitely not been there the night before. 

Their three sons are hovering in the entrance to the room. Clearly wondering if they should come in or run back to their rooms. 

Misaki would have prefered for them not to witness this, but she will not give Tajima any more ammunition by making him think that she was about to change the subject. So she keeps her focus on her husband and raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him. She refuses to be the first one to break the silence. 

Predictably Tajima is the first to break. He had never managed to outstubborn her. 

“What is that?”

“A baby, dear. I would have thought you would know how one looks, considering that you have already seen three of them.”

“I know what a baby looks like! What I mean is why do you have a baby? I’m pretty sure you weren’t pregnant. I would have noticed if you had been, I’ve witnessed three of them already afterall.”

A smile tucks at Misaki’s lips. If Tajima let her indulge in her cheek, he is not as upset as he could have been. He is probably just confused and he just so hates to not understand something that impacted the clan or his family specifically. 

“You are right”, she starts, adjusting the baby and waving her husband down to sit instead of standing there like an idiot. As Tajima follows her request she starts to explain to him what had happened. She tells him about the visit she got from the goddess, how she ordered Misaki to go and get the child, how she had instructed her to not tell anyone about it until the child was safely inside the clan grounds. She also tells him about the goddess interest in Madara and how she had wants the both of them to grow up close together. 

Of course Misaki keeps certain things to herself, things that aren’t important, things no one ever has to know about. 

After she has finished her tale, Tajima was silent for a few minutes, a calculating glint entering his eyes. 

Misaki frowns lightly at that, but chooses to use those minutes to beckon her sons, who had come in during her retelling of the events of last night, over to her: “Come, meet you new brother.”

The three boys are at her side in an instant, looking down at the baby in awe. Or rather Kou and Madara are, Izuna grips her arms in an attempt to better see the baby. Misaki smiles and leans down a little so that Izuna doesn’t accidentally hurt the little one trying to see better. 

Madara is standing on her right side, where the head of the baby is and Misaki watches him out of the corner of her eyes. Interested to see what he thinks of this new addition to their family, remembering the goddess words concerning her second born.

Eventually Tajima sighs and shakes his head in clear defeat: “Very well. I can hardly go against the goddess wishes, can I?” 

Misaki snortes at that, attempting to cover it with a cough, but Tajima was not fooled if his disapproving look is anything to go by. Both of them know that the discussion is not yet over and that Tajima most likely needs more time to figure out how to process from here. 

They both also know that once the elders hear of this, they will be in an absolut uproar. Partly because a bastard risen by the clan heads family was just not done, partly because of the goddess interest in the boy. 

“Do you know who his parents are?”

Here it is, Misaki thinks and shakes her head. “No, he was abandoned. Lying between the roots of a tree. I would never have found him if Amaterasu hadn’t led me there. Everything I know is that he is a bastard.”

“Yes, you already said that. I just wonder whos and who the mother is. His hair is white, so maybe a Hatake?”

“I doubt it. I think it’s albinism. He has red eyes. And it would be an explanation why he was abandoned. Maybe they thought him to weak to survive, more of a burden than anything else, but could not kill him themselves?”

“Possibly. Depending of who the mother is, if she is from a clan which such believes or even a civilian, there may have been thoughts about demonic possession or some such nonsense. And killing a baby is viewed by many as one of the gravest crimes one can conduct.” Tajima waves his hand, as if he thinks such believes to be the high of stupidity. 

Misaki hisses at him: “And I think so too. Don’t even start this with me here.” Tajima makes a face at her, but does not say anything more. They had this argument a thousand times by now, but Tajima has the backing of the elders, so Misaki can not do more than try do change his mind about the child huntings everytime it comes up. 

Sending him one last glare he turns back towards her sons, who are still inspecting the new baby. 

Her eyes come to a rest at Madara who is frowning down at the baby as if he does not know what to do with it. Misaki smiles and asks “Madara, sweetie, how about you give him a name?”

Tajima jerks his head back up to stare at her in confusion, while both Izuna and Kou shout their dismay over not being the one allowed to choose the name. 

Misaki gives them both stern looks, before focusing back on Madara, who looks at her curiously and she nods at him and smiles encouragingly.

Madara hesitates for a moment, before he looks back down onto the baby, which has been surprisingly silent through the entire conversation. 

After a long moment he finally responds: “Yūrei.”

“Madara!”, Tajima barks, but Misaki waves him back down. “That is a rather strange name, Madara.”

“Why? He does look like ghost.” Madara was frowning again, staring down at the little body in Misaki’s arms. For a moment she just watches him, before she nods: “Very well, Yūrei it is then.”

Tajima cies out in protest, but the smile Madara gives her is wide and blinding. The words of the goddess are dancing in the back of her mind, making her wonder if there had been more reason behind her demand than Misaki first thought. 


	2. First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than intended. I'm also not exactly happy with it, but I doubt that I can get it better all by myself sooo... *shrugs*
> 
> Hope you are going to like it through <3

As he grows, it becomes more and more apparent that Yūrei is the polar opposite of everything that is inherently Uchiha. 

It is not just his looks, his white hair and red eyes in contrast to the typical black hair and eyes of pure blooded Uchiha, but his whole being. 

He is a quiet and serious child who prefers to hide himself away in the library that is attached to the main family home, than going out and interacting with other people. 

The Uchiha as a whole are driven mostly by their emotions. The notion to hide them away is frowned upon in their clan and while not every one offers up everything for the world to see, no one would ever think about keeping all their emotion locked away. 

Yūrei is different in this regard too. He doesn’t like to show how he feels too openly. He doesn’t hide his feelings from those he trusts, but everyone else gets treated to his calm and somewhat cold exterior. 

There is also his chakra, which nature is a weird combination of water and lightning, and while lightning may be something that isn’t uncommon in the clan, his insane control over water very much  _ is _ . 

He is also ridiculously intelligent. Not that Uchiha are generally stupid, but Yūrei is the kind of intelligent that makes even those that are more intelligent than is average look stupid. He also doesn’t hesitates to tell someone when they are being an idiot. It doesn’t make him many friends.

(In the later years, it’s especially the elders who get treated in such a manner and after years of their scorn he can not care less what they think of him, when he disregards their opinions.

It really is a shame than, that Kou prefers listening to Yūrei instead of the elders.)

For all his differences from the rest of the clan through, there are also parts of him that are very Uchiha. His unshakable loyalty for his clan for example. His love and devotion for his family, however uncertain their relation may be. 

His anger is a just as dangerous as that of an Uchiha. Shimmering away inside them until they can unleash it unto those that deserve it. Getting revenge for their fallen a similar desperate need in him than in any pure blooded Uchiha. 

Unfortunately all those things that put him apart from the typical Uchiha, are the main reason there is so much dissent in the council of elders and in the rest of the clan. The bad things more easily seen and remembered than the good things.

If it hadn’t been the goddess who had let Misaki to the baby, no one would really believe that the child could in anyway be an Uchiha. A few similarities do not, after all, prove that he truly is partly Uchiha. There is just so much different about him, that it is hard to imagine that there is even one drop of Uchiha blood in him.

No one of those people seem to take into consideration that all those different things may come from his mother, who obviously is not an Uchiha. 

They don’t know after all who she had been and from which clan she was from or if she may had been clanless or even a civilian.

It is not so unusual that a bastard is quite different from what a typical Uchiha is believed to be. 

\---

Yūrei is four when Tajima puts a practice sword in his hands and starts to train him for the war, just like he had done with Kou and Madara and Izuna before him. 

Misaki had objected, but it doesn’t matter what the goddess may wants or intents to happen to Yūrei. He is part of the clan and for a bastard the fightings are the only way to prove their worth as an Uchiha. Not even having the favor of the goddess can change that.

Yūrei is a protegeé through. Just like Madara and Izuna are and he soaks up every lesson, every stance and every kata he is shown. It is in this very first year of training that his unbelievable control over water becomes clear. 

Those who hate him laugh at it, already convinced that he will never be able to produce the Great Fireball that every Uchiha has do to be recognized as an adult. Normally that would not be a problem, as Yūrei is a bastard and therefore can’t be expected to have the same chakra nature as Uchiha typically have. But Yūrei is not a normal bastard and so the expectations regarding him are completely different. 

He is chosen by the goddess. 

Even if there are many who don’t believe so, who see Madara as the true chosen one and Yūrei as nothing more than a pawn in whatever destiny Madara had to fulfill.

So of course people expect him to be special, to be something grant. To prove his worth to the clan in every way possible and anything that doesn’t live up to those expectations is considered as prove that he wasn’t worth Amaterasu’s attention. 

Completely disregarding that it is not their duty to decide who deserves Amaterasu’s attention and who doesn’t.

\---

It is somewhere in Yūrei’s first year of training, when Madara is nine years old, that he gets to speak with the goddess for the first time outside of any formal settings. 

Amaterasu had taken to watching their training sessions. Sitting at the edge of the training field and just observing. Never interfeing, never demanding attention, never speaking up. She just sits there and watches until she leaves again before their training comes to an end. 

Madara’s father had been uneasy at first. But he can hardly tell the goddess to leave, when she wants to watch her chosen train. 

It isn’t even just Madara’s father who is uneasy by Amaterasu’s appearances. Before Yūrei’s arrival the goddess only rarely showed up. Most often in her temple where the priest would sometimes let someone through to her. And the only times she appeared outside of the temple was during the few festivals the Uchiha allowed themselves to celebrate. 

Now she shows up all the time. Walking through the compound as if she has always done it and isn’t freaking everyone out by doing so. 

On one such a day where Amaterasu is watching the training happen, Madara steps away for a break, while his father is focused on Izuna, who is six and expected to start doing missions soon, and Yūrei.

Kou is away on a mission, like he always is these days, so Madara only rarely sees his older brother anymore. Their mother doesn’t like it, but Kou is eleven and therefore old enough to do mission that take him far away from their compound. 

Madara is not an idiot, even if his parents try to keep him out of it, he is pretty sure that it is meant to keep Kou away from all the people who say that it should be Madara who becomes the next clan head. Regardless if Kou is still alive or not.

They believe that Amaterasu interest isn’t with Yūrei but Madara and that the reason she brought Yūrei into the clan and into the main family is because she expects him to play an important role during Madara’s rule. 

It doesn’t matter how often Madara’s mother tells those people that the goddess focus was  _ only _ on Yūrei and never on Madara, that she only mentioned him once and even then in reference to Yūrei. 

Unfortunately many people have a problem with believing that their goddess has more interest in a bastard than a pure blooded Uchiha. 

Madara hates those talks. He doesn’t want to be clan head, doesn’t want to take Kou’s birthright away from him, just because some people believe they know better what Amaterasu wants than the woman to who the goddess had actually spoken to.

Gritting his teeth, Madara shakes his head to try and dispel those thoughts. Instead he looks over to the other side of the training field where Amaterasu is sitting on a bench hastily put together when the Uchiha realised that their goddess was sitting in the dirt to watch the training happen.

Hesitating for only a moment longer, Madara moves around the field to get to the goddess side. Probably feeling him coming closer, Amaterasu turns her head to look at him. Strands of her hair, of a black so dark it looks out of place in the world around it, fall over her shoulder and pools in her lap.

Her red eyes track Madara’s movement as he steps closer. They are the same red as Yūrei’s and a lot of those who are in his favor, believe that Amaterasu gifted him her own eyes and that’s why they are red. They are therefore convinced that he really is partly Hatake and are just waiting for the day he will prove all those non-believers wrong by revealing the power of the Sharingan hidden away in his eyes.

They never seem overly concerned by the fact that bastards very rarely manage to archive the Sharingan. 

“Amaterasu-sama”, he says, bowing before the goddess. Her lips twitch upwards and her eyes twinkle in a way that makes Madara uncomfortable. He doesn’t know why the goddess has any kind of interest in him, even if it is only in regard of Yūrei. He doesn’t really want her attention on himself. But he is also really curious.

The goddess mentions at the space beside her on the bench and Madara hesitates for a moment, before he steps forward to sit on the bench beside her.

“Madara. He had not yet had a possibility to really talk, had we? You probably have some questions, concerning Yūrei and my…  _ interest _ in you.”

Madara bites his lip. Of course he has questions. Everyone has them; the clan elders, his father, Yūrei himself. But no one dares to ask those questions. 

Well, Yūrei probably would as he never not asks questions about things he doesn’t understand uncaring about how annoying he may be. But he had been forbidden from bothering Amaterasu with his questions by both their father  _ and  _ their mother. And Yūrei always listens to their mother.

“I don’t want to be a bother”, he tells her. She looks as him, one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised.    
“You are not a bother. And only fools never ask any questions.”

Madara hunches his shoulders, looking down at his hands laying in his lap: “Everyone has questions. I know they do. But they don’t want to ask them because they fear that you will be angry or something at them.”

Amaterasu just huffs in amusement: “Ah, yes. The pleasure of being a goddess. Everyone is always so very afraid of you anger and of making mistakes in front of you. It is useful, but also so very annoying.”

“You are not going to smitt me for asking dumb questions?” 

“Didn’t I just say that only fools never ask questions? And there are no  _ dumb _ questions. Sometimes they can be unnecessary because the answer should be obvious and they may appear  _ dumb _ because of it. But how can you learn and grow when you do not ask when there is something you don’t understand?”

Madara stares at the goddess beside him. She had turned her head back to look over where Yūrei was still training, watching him intently. 

“Then… why?”

“Hmm?”, she prompts, regarding him out of the corner of her eyes. 

“Why… I mean, I know it is not really me you are interested in. At least I think so, because mother said you only mentioned me once. But you did mention me and… Kou is older than me! Why is it me you want Yūrei to grow close to?” 

Madara clams his mouth shut before he could really start rambling. He is already grateful that Amaterasu is not going to be angry with him by bothering her with his questions. But that does mean that she has much patience for his ramblings. 

“There was once a foolish man”, Amaterasu suddenly starts, her tone brusketly and faintly angry. Madara startles at the sudden harshness in the normally calm and soft spoken goddess. Her eyes turning ice cold despite their warm color and Madara feels fear creep up his spin. 

“He dared to take a right for himself that was never meant to be. With that he created a dissonance in the world that has yet to heal. And it most likely never  _ will _ . 

And through his reasons were understandable, it did not give him the right to set himself above the gods that had been born of a power older than him or his mother or the power they unleashed onto the world and that corrupted not only that old power but also us gods, stealing much of our might.

Your brother. He is fortunate to not be as special as you.”

“What?!”

He is not sure what she means and what it has to do with him and more importantly why he is supposed to be more special then his brother. 

Kou is older than him. He is going to be the next clan head. Madara is just the spare and sure he knows that they life in a time where that could change any day. Where Kou may not life long enough to become the next clan head. 

It doesn’t change what is through and Kou is not yet dead and Madara hopes that his brother won’t die. Hopes that none of his brothers, Yūrei included, will die. 

There is just nothing special about him. Nothing that can’t be found in his brothers either. He was intelligent, but so are Kou and Izuna. He is strong but Izuna is not far behind despite being three years younger. And maybe Madara will outshine them all in terms of chakra reserves if he continues to grow like he currently does, but that doesn’t mean that his brothers won’t be more powerful than the average shinobi. 

He has not yet achieved his Sharingan, unlike Kou who has gotten his last year during a skirmish with the Senju that had cost many of their clansmen their life and nearly Kou’s as well.

Their father had been proud that Kou has managed what so few Uchiha do. That he has proven himself worthy of their greatest strength. 

That Amaterasu has found him worthy of her most treasured gift to the clan. 

So why is Madara supposed to be more special than his brothers?

Amaterasu sighs, looking at him with something like regret in her eyes. The anger having completely vanished.

“I apologise. I didn’t mean to say it like that. But the doing of  _ that man  _ affected you more than it did any of your brothers. Their life and fate is their own, but yours has been decided long before you were even born. And depending on how it goes, you will be your clans salvation or it’s doom.”

Madara’s eyes go wide at that: “You… you really think…? What do you mean with I will be my clans doom? What will I do? I don’t want to be the cause to whatever will happen to my clan!”

“I am aware of that.  _ That’s  _ why I brought Yūrei here.” The goddess raises one of her hands and reaches out towards Madara, running the back of her fingers over his cheek: “I hope that his presence here will change enough that it will not come to that. But he can only do so much. If you don’t let him help you, nothing will change and the circle will repeat itself, just like it has done before.”

Madara blinks at here in confusion, not daring to move even one centimeter in fear of what will happen then. 

“I wish I could tell you more, but knowing to much is sometimes just as bad as never asking any questions.”

Amaterasu grimaces and takes her hand back, turning her head to look back over to the three still on the training field. Madara follows her and sees that they have stopped and are looking at them. Izuna and Yūrei are clearly curious, but his father is frowning. The only reason why he hasn’t come over yet to scold Madara most likely being the goddess sitting by his side. 

“I  _ hate  _ withholding important information from those who need them. It never gets anything done and more often than not it leads to them doing exactly what they  _ aren’t  _ supposed to do, because they have no idea what is going on.

But if I tell you too much, that…  _ thing _ may get even more suspicious than it already is and maybe feel compelled to do something drastic. That is not something that I can allow. So please forgive me for not telling you more. In a few more years, when you and your brothers are older and strong enough to handle that wretched creature I will tell you what you need to know.”

With that Amaterasu stands up, flipping her hair out of the way. She casts him one last look of regret and than she was gone and Madara was left staring at empty air.

He stays like that for a few more moments, until his father finally calls out to him: “Madara! Stop lazing around. You will never become stronger if you keep sitting around!”

Startled out of his stupor he jumps of the bench and hurries over to his father and the other two boys watching him. 

With the goddess word still ringing in his ears, he goes back to his training.


	3. Second

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me over seven fucking months but I finally finished this chapter. It fought me the entire way, but in the end I won! Ha!
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy it, have fun reading!

The first time someone tries to kill Yūrei, he is two years old and already to intelligent for his families continued mental health. 

He has managed to evade his mother's attention and slipped out of the house to go and explore the compound which he hasn’t really been allowed to see just yet. 

(Luckily his escape went not unnoticed by the Temple Guard that had been ordered to protect Amaterasu’s supposed chosen. Who immediately went to follow him, even if he did nothing to stop the toddler from wandering around the compound. After all  _ it should be safe _ .)

Yūrei didn’t realize he was followed, for all that he was far more intelligent than the average two year old, he was still  _ two years old _ and there were so many Uchiha out and about, that one more didn’t register to him. 

Most of the Uchiha he walked past cooed at him or laughed lightly at his adorably annoyed expression upon asked if he was allowed to be out. 

(There were not many Uchiha openly against him then. In those early days, very few were against the boy. A few had their doubt about if he  _ really _ was Amaterasu’s chosen, but for most he was just another bastard the goddess had made them aware of, even if he was brought in by the clan’s matriarch instead of a shinobi assigned to do it by the priests.)

So Yūrei wandered mostly undisturbed through the compound only really followed by the Temple Guard.

But as it was with small children, you only had to be distracted one second and they would be gone, completely vanished from sight.

It’s exactly what happened to the poor Temple Guard, he was only momentarily distracted and the boy was gone when he looked back. The guard only panicked a little, at first. They were in the compound and the boy wouldn’t be able to just walk through the gates and he was not yet able to use chakra to jump over the walls or climb them. 

He began to search the immediate area as the boy couldn’t have gotten far yet, when a hysteric civilian came towards him pointing to a narrow alley between two shops and shrieked: “Hiroshi is trying to kill Yūrei!”

The Temple Guard froze for a moment in shock, before rushing towards the alley. Yūrei was sitting on the ground clearly afraid, Hiroshi standing over him, a sneer on his face and a kunai in hand poised to strike down at Yūrei any second. 

Drawing his sword the Temple Guard stepped forward: “Hiroshi what are you doing? Step away from Yūrei at once.”

Hiroshi whirled around, a wild look in his eyes: “I can’t! I have to kill him! He is a danger to the clan! If we don’t get rid of him, then the Senju will destroy us all!”

“What are you talking about? The boy is one of Amaterasu’s chosen. If anything, he is a sign that we are going to triumph over the Senju.”

“That’s what she wants us to think! But it’s a lie! Everything is a lie! She  _ stole  _ the Sharingan! She wasn’t the one who gave it to us! It’s all a lie!”

Narrowing his eyes, the Temple Guard tightened his grip on his sword. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Yūrei was crawling away from Hiroshi **.** Good.

“So you are saying that our goddess is false? That is blasphemie. Now, put down the kunai and come with me. The elders and Tajima-sama will deal with you.”

Hiroshi shook his head wildly: “No! NO! The elders and Tajima-sama are all under the influence of the false goddess! He said that we have to free the clan of her influence or the Senju will destroy us all!”

“Hiroshi calm down! I don’t know who told you this, but they are  _ wrong _ . Amaterasu has never done anything to harm our clan.”

More guards, both from the temple and normal shinobi, were coming into the alley behind both of them. The Temple Guard saw as one of the other Temple Guards picked Yūrei up and vanished back out on the street. She would make sure that Yūrei was safe, he was sure of it. This was their duty after all. 

Hiroshi didn’t seem to realize the predicament he was in however. Instead he just got more hysteric, eyes wide and wild. The Temple Guard readied himself to either defend himself or strike Hiroshi down, if it came to it.

He hoped it wouldn’t.

\---

“It is a shame”, Elder Akihito said, shaking his head. “That you couldn’t take Hiroshi in alive. It would have been interesting to hear who put those thoughts into his head.”

Takeo, the Temple Guard tasked with protecting Yūrei, lowered his head: “I am sorry, but he left us with no choice.”

Elder Akihito sighed: “It can’t be helped. He was a danger to everyone in the clan and we can’t expect you to put yourself in danger. But it leaves us with the question who told him that Amaterasu is a ‘false goddess’ and that she has stolen the sharingan.”

“I have stolen nothing”, a voice spoke up from behind Takeo, startling him. 

“Amaterasu-sama!”, Elder Shiomi said in surprise: “To what do we own the pleasure of your presence?”

Takeo scrambled away to the side so he wasn’t sitting in between Amaterasu and the elders. 

The goddess nodded at him in thanks and he lowered his head, not daring to look at her, as she sat down in the spot he had vacated. 

“There has been an attack, I hear. Someone tried to kill Yūrei.”

“Yes”, Elder Shiomi said, a somber look on her old face. “His name was Hiroshi and we do not know why he had done it, as the guards of your temple killed him when he tried to attack them.”

“He was extremely strong”, Takeo said hastily, when Amaterasu turned her head to face him. Hopefully she wouldn’t blame him for what had happened. It was his duty after all to look after Yūrei and make sure he stayed unharmed. “Far stronger than he should have been according to the people that knew him.”

Amaterasu hmed, a frown upon her face: “I take it that Yūrei is alive?”

“Yes, he is unharmed, if frightened by what has happened.”

“I am not surprised. You did good in protecting him”, she said. “What is your name?”

“Takeo, Amaterasu-sama.”

“Takeo”, Amaterasu repeated and Takeo dared to look up again. The goddess was looking at him, her head tipped to the side so that her pitch black her fell from her shoulder and pooled on the ground. Her deep red eyes regarded Takeo for a moment longer before she smiled: “A good name. I take it you are one of the guards for my temple?”

“Yes! I was tasked to be Yūrei’s guard shortly after he was brought into the clan. I hadn’t thought that something like this would happen, when he managed to sneak out of the house or I would have stopped him right then.”

“I do not doubt that. You couldn’t have known that it would happen, so do not blame yourself. In the end you saved Yūrei, that should be all that matters.”

Takeo dipped his head down again: “Thank you.” 

Amaterasu nodded, then she turned back towards the elders: “Regardless, what exactly was it, that Hiroshi said about the sharingan and me?”

The elders looked at each other for a moment, unsure what their goddess would think when she heard the blasphemous word Hiroshi had said. They knew she would not blame them, that she would be aware that no Uchiha would ever make such terrible accusations, but one of them  _ had _ and that was troubling.

Finally Elder Shiomi turned back towards Amaterasu: “He said that Yūrei is a danger to the Uchiha, that if we do not kill him the Senju will destroy us. He also said that it wasn’t you who gave us the Sharingan, that you  _ stole _ it and that we have to free our clan of your influence.”

Amaterasu didn’t react at first, blinking slowly she stared at the elders who grew more and more uncomfortable with every second that passed without a reaction of their goddess. 

Finally the goddess closed her eyes and sighed: “I should have known.  _ Of course _ that thing would hear about Yūrei and how he came into the clan. Of course it would be spooked by this. I’m just surprised that it took that thing so long to make a move.”   


Shaking her head with another sigh, she looked back up at the elders squaring her shoulders: “I did not steal the sharingan, it was a gift. A gift I treasure greatly. I am not the one who created it, but I got rid of the corruption caused by the old power and than I made it  _ better. _ I am the one who made this flawed power into what it is today. I am however not surprised that this thing does not know this.”

The elders were quite taken aback by this admission. It was not unusual that Amaterasu would tell them the true of a situation without the usual crypticness many other gods seemed to be fond of, but that did not mean that they were used to being surprised by it.

They didn’t linger long on most of what Amaterasu had told them. Once this meeting was over, one of the elders would rely what they had learned to the priests at her temple to be put on the records, just like it was always done when they learned something new about their goddess. 

There was something much more important: “You mentioned a ‘thing’. What exactly do you mean? If I may ask this question?”

“Always ask questions”, the goddess replied with a sniff. “Only a fool is content with the knowledge given to him by others. That aside, this thing is a relict of an old time. It still believes that it has any significance in the world or any power at all. Unfortunately that does not stop it from making a nuisance of itself. It could become quite the problem and if we are not careful it may do something drastic. It has to believe that it still has the upper hand. This means however that there will be more attempts on Yūrei’s life like today.”

“More of our people will be influenced by it? Is there no way of preventing it?”, Elder Shiomi asked, shock showing clearly on her face. Was Amaterasu really suggesting that they let their people get influenced by this…  _ thing? _

“Only if no one leaves the compound ever again. The good thing is, that it will not kill any of the Uchiha it may approach for this. It needs them alive after all to kill Yūrei as it can’t enter the compound itself and I am able to get rid of the poison that this thing will inject in it’s victims. You just have to make sure that they are taken in alive.”

“We can do this”, Takeo said, speaking up when it became clear that the elders were unsure what to make of Amaterasu’s words. Takeo knew that he and the other Temple Guards would be able to subdue any of their clansmen that became victim to whatever this thing was and if Amaterasu could help them regain their right mind, than they would do it.

Amaterasu inclined her head: “I thank you. It is not ideal, but the consequences are too great to do it any other way.”

“And there is no way for you to just destroy it?”, one of the elders asked. 

Amaterasu shook her head: “I am unfortunately unable to trace it, when it is hiding in the earth and it will be careful not to appear anywhere in my sensing range. It is not dumb, it knows that I could destroy it, if I’m given the opportunity.”

“That is truly unfortunate. What do you propose we do then?”

“Firstly we must protect Yūrei from any future assassination attempts. I am sure that you will be willing to do so, are you?”, Amaterasu asked, looking over at Takeo who nodded eagerly: “Of course. It is already my duty so I will do everything to keep Yūrei away from harm.”

“Secondly, we need to make sure that every active shinobi knows that there is a being out there which may attempt to coerce them into harming the clan, so that they are less likely to fall victim to their manipulations.” 

The elders nodded in understanding. It was reasonable, even if it may not guarantee that something like today would never happen again. If Amaterasu was worried about this ‘thing’ than they should be too. 

“And thirdly we need to ensure that every guard to my temple as well as every shinobi, active or not, is aware that any possible attackers are not acting on their own free will, so that they may be taken in alive for me to help them. What happened to Hiroshi is terrible, we need to make sure that is does not happen again.”   


“It will be no problem”, Elder Akihito assured the goddess and it wasn’t. It was however unclear how the people would react to it. Would they start to doubt their goddess because she couldn’t destroy this danger to their clan? How dangerous was this ‘thing’ to their clan and why did it seem to have an interest in them? There were many questions that did not have an answer right now. 

Elder Akihito really hoped that Amaterasu was feeling generous enough to answer them. 

\---

A commotion on the main marketplace draws Madara away from the training grounds. 

Ever since his talk with Amaterasu a week ago, he has put even more energy in his training. Whatever the goddess cryptic words have meant, he just refuses to be his clans downfall. So he will become strong enough to defend them against every foe that dares to make a move against the Uchiha and protect his clan with everything he has.

He just hopes that it will be enough. 

Reaching the marketplace he sees his mother and Yūrei standing of to the side, two Temple Guards and a normal clan shinobi standing in front of them. Clustered around them are the merchants and their customers as well as those that live close by. 

They are all staring at the four shinobi on the ground. One of them is lying face down in the dirt, he is shouting something that is lost in the dirt. Takeo, the Temple Guard assigned as Yūrei’s permanent guard, is keeping him immobile with the help of two other shinobi. 

Another assassination attempt on Yūrei then. Madara curls his hands to fists and starts to make his way over to his mother and Yūrei. The entire clan would be in an uproar again, there would be even more rumours to why these assassination attempts were happening. Some will blame Yūrei, other will say that it’s even more prove of the reason  _ why _ he is so special. Someone wants him dead and that has to mean that he is a danger to  _ them _ and not the Uchiha. 

While Madara may not know why someone would want to see Yūrei dead, he certainly believed that this someone sees Yūrei as a danger to them. He vaguely wonders if it has something to do with what Amaterasu has told him last week. 

She had mentioned someone, a  _ thing _ she had called it. She had said that if she told Madara to much of whatever it is that is going on, than this  _ thing _ would possibly do something drastic. Personally Madara thinks that assassinating a child is already pretty drastic. 

Reaching his mother and Yūrei, he puts those thoughts out of his head for now and instead hones immediately onto Yūrei: “Are you ok?”

Yūrei rolls his eyes, like the little shit that he is and says: “I’m  _ fine _ ! Takeo caught him before he could to anything and the others helped him. He didn’t even touch me.”

Madara nods satisfied and turns to his mother: “Are you alright too?”

His mother smiles: “Yes, sweetie, I’m unhurt. Takeo reacted fast enough so no one was injured. Well, except maybe Jun.” She looks over to where the two shinobi and Takeo are now wrenching the shrieking attacker of the ground to wrestle him to the cells.

“Come on. Let us go home. The news of the attack have probably already reached your brothers and they will be worried too.” Madara’s mothers ushers them towards home, through the mass of Uchiha watching. 

One of the two Temple Guards replaces Takeo in keeping the attacker secured, so that Takeo can come over to them. He steps in front of them, while the other takes up the rear.

The Uchiha standing around, watching the scene part without complain to let them through and like Madara thought some are already looking at Yūrei with a frown while others look deeply troubled. Madara can understand them, he still doesn’t like their stare. So he curls an arm around Yūrei and pulls him closer. 

Yūrei gives him an annoyed look, but doesn’t try to get away from Madara and instead moves a little bit closer, so Madara knows that his annoyance is just a facade and he is actually somewhat shaken up about what happened. 

With a sudden surge of determination of which he doesn’t know where exactly it comes from, Madara decides that it doesn’t matter what everyone else is saying. Yūrei is his little brother, blood relation or no, and Madara will do anything to protect him, just like he will protect all of his other brothers. 

\---

Zetsu sneers as he watches the Uchiha compound. Another attempt at getting rid of the child Amaterasu had brought into the clan foiled and it is getting harder with every try. 

Zetsu makes sure not to try it to often, to keep it from becoming predictable, but the longer it takes, the more time the boy has to grow up and Zetsu  _ can not let that happen. _

Zetsu regrets not killing the boy himself two years ago, instead of sending the Uchiha he had convinced of the true to do it. But he hadn’t wanted to attract Amaterasu’s attention by entering the compound himself. It is too late now through, as Amaterasu has taken to be a near constant presence in the compound. 

And as much Zetsu loathes her and what she had done, he was also no fool. He knows that she can easily kill him if it ever came to a confrontation between them. For all that chakra has stolen much of her power, this world is still her domain. She, like all the other old gods, has been born from the old power which still sleeps deep in the bowels of the earth, unreachable even for Zetsu. 

The old gods however  _ can _ reach that power and it gives them a certain control over the world, Zetsu has no hope of ever matching. It is something he hates to admit but not to do it would be foolish and Zetsu is  _ no fool. _

Gritting his teeth Zetsu vanishes from his hiding place before Amaterasu can pinpoint his location and ambush him. He needs to find another way to get rid of the boy, preferably before he gets old enough to be any danger to Zetsu’s plans.

It is annoying that he still doesn’t know why Amaterasu has taken such an interest in the boy and where he even came from. Normally he wouldn’t be bothered by some bastard child being brought into the clan, there were others before, but this time one of the old gods has taken an interest and Zetsu refuses to let it be the reason his plans to free his mother are foiled.


End file.
